


In the Worshyr Grove

by Zabeta



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Imagine a tiny church in Austria, Life Day celebration, My unfamiliarity with extended universe is showing, Only outside and made of enormous trees, Post TLJ Canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 14:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17246033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zabeta/pseuds/Zabeta
Summary: Happy New Year, Apisa! A little response to your second prompt - Canonverse, meeting unexpectedly.





	In the Worshyr Grove

**Author's Note:**

  * For [apisa_b](https://archiveofourown.org/users/apisa_b/gifts).



The Supreme Leader was more irritable than usual. The new effort of the First Order to make on-planet appearances observing local customs had made sense when he’d ordered Hux and his other Generals to participate, but he clearly hadn’t thought it through. He was the only high-ranking official in that sector of the Mid Rim during the Life Day celebrations, so the assignment fell to him.

He knew Kashyyyki history better than most in the First Order, so it was just as well that he was on point. No one else would have ventured planetside without a squadron of Stormtroopers, but the Supreme Leader knew that would be a dangerous provocation. He dressed down, leaving his helmet behind and dressing in an older surcoat that had faded to a deep grey. He thought twice about wearing the cowl, but decided a bit of camouflage would be wise. With his lightsaber and Force abilities as his only protection, he felt surprisingly free, which irritated him further.

He landed his discreet shuttle in the main public hangar, emerging alone into the small group of dignitaries who were assigned to welcome him. Wookies were typically very good at cloaking their thoughts, but he could tell that some of those in the group were surprised at his appearance, and one or two knew exactly who he had been in his former life. To these he gave a hard, cold look, which they seemed to interpret correctly, as no one said anything beyond brief words of welcome.

They escorted him through a grove of worshyrs into the clearing where the main celebration would be held. The worshyrs on either side of the clearing had been cultivated in straight rows, regularly spaced, and they rose a hundred of feet into the air before the canopy spread out across the space to create a vaulted ceiling. Thousands of wookies were gathered in the space, along with the natives of other planets mingling among them.

The Supreme Leader had never been to a Life Day celebration as Kylo Ren, though he found that the memories of poor, dead Ben Solo were harder to banish than he had hoped, especially when he noticed a human boy in the arms of a wookie. The boys face might have been lit from within as he stared around him, pointing to the ceiling with wonder. Kylo Ren looked straight ahead and waited for the ceremony to begin.

When six enormous wookies mounted the dais, the crowd fell silent. The First Order had negotiated his appearance with the Chieftains, who had been willing to welcome their representative publicly but absolutely refused to allow him to speak to the crowd. The compromise was all for the best as far as the Supreme Leader was concerned - he smiled to himself thinking how outraged Hux would have been if he’d had to participate silently. He nodded to acknowledge the welcome when he heard it.

He was focusing on not acknowledging the grumbling in the crowd that followed when he felt something prick the Force around him. It had been a short, sharp, shock of fear that disappeared before he had a chance to sense its owner. It was not the only feeling of fear rolling off of the crowd, but the sense of surprise that came with it was different.

He had only a minute to look around him when the singing began. He was prepared to hear it, but not at all prepared for the feelings that overtook him with the music. To human ears, wookie speech was very difficult to distinguish from the sounds of dumb beasts, but their singing was one of the most beautiful sounds in the known galaxy. When the Wookies hit their lowest notes, the low rumbling, which was below the frequency humans could consciously hear, affected the way the music  _ felt _ . Kylo Ren felt as if it were directly affecting his neural pathways, unlatching doors he had worked hard to lock tight under Snoke’s violent tutelage.

He shut his eyes against the wave of memories and emotions, trembling with the effort to keep his body from betraying him. He was relieved when the first song ended, and he could sit and simply listen to a dry speech. He braced himself as everyone rose to sing the next song. 

This song was for everyone to sing together, and Kylo lifted the holopad with the lyrics a little higher than necessary, so it covered half of his face. He was hiding his feelings well until he heard an ungodly noise coming out of the crowd in front of him.

It was a human voice, probably a female human, and it was the least musical thing he had ever heard. It was off pitch, with a tone like the screech of a X-wing at low altitude. The singer seemed to be able to pronounce the Shyriiwook, but the rhythm was completely off. He thought it might be a joke - a joke in very poor taste - and he looked for the offender in hopes that someone could make the noise stop.

He followed the sound to a spot a few rows from the front, and the first thing he saw was his father’s best friend glaring at him. The sound was coming from beside Chewbacca, but from a creature much shorter than the wookie in front of it. He stared down at the sound, willing it to stop, until he saw the wookie in front shift to one side, revealing Rey. She was singing from memory, with her eyes closed and her face lifted to the trees overhead, a joyful smile upon her face. He could not remember ever seeing anyone look so happy, and a corner of his lips lifted in spite of himself. 

He caught Chewbacca’s eye again, and the wookie shook his head, glancing down at Rey and lifting his shoulders as if to say, “What can you do?”

Kylo Ren turned his face back to his holopad and turned his focus to not laughing, which became singularly difficult as the penultimate line of the song rose up the scale and Rey’s voice failed to follow.

After the song ended, and everyone sat down again, he stole a single glance at Chewie and Rey. There were no other Resistance members with them, and he was glad that the conditions of this visit required him not to arrest or pursue anyone participating in the ceremony. He managed not to look directly at them, but he was uncomfortably aware of Rey in the Force. It seemed she was also working hard not to cross into his consciousness. 

He was comforted by having her close, which irritated him again when he realized it. What did it say when an enemy became a comfort, just because they were familiar?

During the closing invocation, he realized that he would need to leave soon without talking to her directly. Before he could think better of it, he looked up and stared at her until she turned her face toward him. He reached out in the Force and sent her a single thought,  _ Peace be with you. _

She looked confused for a second, as if she thought she had misheard. Her eyebrows drew together as she realized she had not, and she sent a single thought back,  _ Happy Life Day, Ben. _ They just looked at each other for the final few minutes of the ceremony, until the wookies in front of her rose and she disappeared from his sight.


End file.
